Don’t Fake Follow 1,000 People a Day on Medium to Build a Brand
There are better marketing strategies
I started on Medium less than a month ago, and I’ve been reading a lot of articles. Medium seems like an excellent platform to learn, self-educate, practice mindfulness and explore new topics. I recognize how it benefits me, and I’m happy to write articles myself.
You can find a countless number of articles about “making it” on Medium and turning it into an income source. I read quite a few of them, and most offer decent advice: write more often, use your voice, write consistently — and many more. But there is one suggestion that makes me cringe: to follow thousands of people with no or minimal intention to read their work, for the purpose of having them follow you back and gain following. In my opinion, this is not the right way to build your brand.
Following Others: How Does it Work?
When you follow someone on Medium, it means you like their writing. Or at least this is what it SHOULD mean. You noticed an exciting title, got curious, read it and chose to follow the author. While checking their profile, you scrolled through their articles, decided to read a few of them as well and liked it. Again, this is what it supposedly SHOULD be the case.
In my 3–4 weeks on this website, I have come across several writers suggesting the tactic of the meaningless following and playing the game of numbers. I don’t want to say anything negative about them, as they are clearly trying to build a following and leverage it to get more opportunities — the goal almost all of us have. However, I’m not a fan of this marketing strategy.
The math is simple: you need to follow a ton of writers so that hopefully, 10% of them would follow you back. For example, you follow 1,000 people today, 100 of them will follow you back. Out of those 100, some may read your existing articles, and others may read your future ones too. Therefore, you are trying to trick people you are not really interested in to follow you back so that you can make money off of them.
Moreover, a writer can leverage his following to score offers, such as sponsorships and other writing opportunities. Can you imagine them going to a company, offering their talent, claiming they have a massive following on Medium and receiving a pay-off? A legitimate business will be paying money, hoping to attract potential customers and following of their own. But the entire thing is fake because the followers are.
Example of How It Is Done
I have a shining example — this happened to me a few days ago. A writer who used this tactic got me to follow him back. Soon, he highlighted a line on one of my articles and added a private note. The note had nothing to do with my work or the article content, but it had everything to do with him. It contained a link to his new article and a dramatic description intended to make me want to click on that link.
Did I click? No. But I looked at his Medium profile and discovered that he has 10 times fewer followers compared to the people he is following:
The 10% strategy in action — it works! But the question is: is it ethical?
I would have gladly responded to a genuine note from someone saying they like my work and wondering if I’d like to follow them back and support them in their Medium journey, as they recently registered and feel lost or overwhelmed. Even if such a statement was fake and another follower-gaining technique they were using on 1,000 writers, at least the person attempted to seem sincere. To be fair, it is honest — they ARE new, and they DO want others to notice them! But, unfortunately, genuineness is too much to ask.
Why Do I Find This Tactics Indecent?
Is it against the rules? No. Is it playing dirty? No. But is it fake and not decent? In my opinion, — yes.
I don’t want to follow someone I may not like or even know. I also don’t particularly want to gain hundreds of meaningless followers who only added me, hoping I would follow them back.
I want to produce quality work and write excellent articles. If someone read my article and decided I’m worthy of following to discover more of my creations — perfect! Receiving “fake” followers who have the very minimal intention of seeing what I wrote and who wish to use me as a means to make more money is not a strategy I am willing to follow.
We need better marketing strategies. Searching for shortcuts is not an answer.
Fake Following is Different from Networking
There is a difference between networking and fake following. The fake following entails seeing others as numbers and turning them into dollar signs. Platforms like Instagram experience this as well, because of entrepreneurs who wish to get sponsored offers and make some quick cash. But you cannot — thank God! — buy followers on Medium, or at least not yet. With Instagram — you can.
I do not need fake followers. I want to connect with writers who are genuinely learning something valuable from me and wish to share their articles with me. I also do not want to be a money-making tool. I am not a fake follower you can buy on Instagram.
I Am Not Naïve; I Know This is a Marketing Strategy
Obviously, this is a common strategy. People have been using it on many other social platforms, and it’s been working for some of them quite well.
But I’m a believer that good work will always be recognized. If you’re a visionary with creative skills, people will read your work. Medium will also notice you — this is why it has a team of curators shuffling through articles and selecting the good ones. Publications accept your articles if they are excellent and correspond with the pub’s vision.
If your work isn’t getting curated or published by publications — it should be a motivation to improve your skills and learn. This is what I, as a brand new writer on Medium, am trying to do. I’d like to think it started to pay off. But it’s because I put in work and effort, not because I’m trying to get fake following sneakily.
We need better marketing strategies. Searching for shortcuts is not an answer.